Waiting
by SingerMe
Summary: How many times had he sat in this same chair under these same circumstances and simply waited and watched because there was nothing else he could do?


**Waiting**

I don't own these characters. I just like to spend time with them. No other profit to be had.

 **WaitingWaitingWaitingWaitingWaiting**

Doc stood back from the treatment table in the front of his office and stretched his back. He was tired. But rest would be a long while coming. He could not afford to rest as long as his patient teetered precariously on the line between life and death.

Still, for right then, he could do nothing more but sit and wait. Shuffling over to his stove, he poured himself a cup of brackish looking black liquid and then carried it to his desk. How many times? He wondered as he sat the cup down and then wearily lowered himself into his chair. How many times had he sat in this same chair under these same circumstances and simply waited and watched because there was nothing else he could do? Too many times, he supposed.

Taking a sip of his coffee, he ran a hand across his mustache then leaned back against his chair. His muscles were sore and he had a slight headache but they were minor complaints compared to his patient, he supposed.

"Ummm… Uh… um..." His patient moaned with a toss of the head.

Doc quickly got to his feet and stepped to the table, gently taking his patient's wrist in his hand and checking the pulse. It was weak, very weak. Taking his stethoscope, he checked the heartbeat and found it had slowed and was slightly erratic but at least still there.

Doc pulled the sheet back up to his patient's chin and returned to his seat and his thoughts. Doc glanced at the row of books on the back of his desk. Records of his patients. People he had treated for one thing or another over the years. He'd seen life arrive into this world and life leave it. Glancing at his patient, Doc feared this one would soon join the list of the departed.

Doc sighed and took a sip of his lukewarm coffee as his eyes traveled again to his books. So many people were listed there. Some he'd known since birth. Some, he'd known only their name and injury and some only their cause of death. Doc rubbed his temple again. This was the worst part of his job, the waiting. Knowing he'd done all he could was little comfort in times like this.

Doc's eyes traveled back up to his books and he reached out and pulled one out, opening it to read although he knew it by heart. Usually, in his books, he would have a dozen or so patients listed between those two brown leather covers, but not this one. This one contained the name of only one. MATTHEW DILLON

The pages of this book detailed the many times he'd treated the revered Marshal. Though Matt had only been Marshal for a few years, he'd already racked up an extensive and almost impressive list of on the job injuries. Doc had meticulously detailed each one in this patient record book. But the book didn't tell the whole story of Matt Dillon.

While it detailed the man's height and weight and muscle strength, it couldn't possible describe the heart underneath. It couldn't explain how a man powerful enough to knock a man senseless with a simple back hand could be gentle enough to hold the hand of a child or the heart of the woman he loved. The book couldn't begin to explain how one man could carry an entire territory on his shoulders. It could describe his build, but not his sense of humor or kindness or values.

Doc sighed and put the book back into its place. After a second's hesitation, he pulled out another book and opened it up. This one, like the last, held only one name but unlike the last one it wasn't nearly as full of information. But knowing the profession that Kitty Russell was in, as well as the man she was so closely associated with, Doc was afraid that would change.

So far he'd only had to treat her for a bad tooth, a bad bout of the ague and various bruises and cuts associated with her job both before and after she bought into the saloon. He seriously hoped that's all her book would contain but only time would tell.

Doc put that book up beside the other and glanced at the other books. All of them contained names and statistics but nothing more. Doc knew that anyone else, looking at these books, would see nothing but facts and figures. But he never could. His friends were listed in those books. People like Chester Goode and Wilber Jonas and Ma Smalley. They were more than just the sum of their parts. They were people, good people. Doc's eyes traveled back to his patient. Another good person whose life and book just might end tonight.

"Umm… Ummmmmm…. Uh…"

Doc hurried back to his patient's side and noticed blue eyes looking at up him. "Docccc…." The voice was frail and raspy. "Ge… Get her… please? Please, I need to speak to Kitt… Kitty Russ…" Eyes closed in pain and Doc stood still for a second waiting to see if his patient would say more. When nothing more was forthcoming, Doc knew what he must do. The waiting was almost over.

Crossing quickly to the door, he yanked it open and stepped out on the stoop, anxiously looking down on the street. "Chester!" He yelled as he saw the young man walking down the boardwalk. "Chester!"

"Doc?" Chester hurried to the bottom of Doc's stairs. "Doc, is…"

"No." Doc quickly shook his head. "But it won't be much longer. I need you to go over to the Long Branch and get Kitty. Hurry!"

"Oh… Okay." Chester nodded. He wanted to ask questions but understood the urgency in Doc's voice. Quickly, he turned around, rushing down the street in his peculiar skipping run.

Doc let out a breath and then went back into office and to his patient. "Hold on." He whispered, not certain his voice could be heard by dying ears. "Hold on, she's coming."

Doc went back to his desk, took a sip of his coffee. Waiting.

It seemed like an hour had passed from when he'd called out to Chester to when he heard footsteps on his stairs, but finally Kitty was coming to give what solace she could to the dying.

"Doc?" Kitty stepped into the office followed by Chester and Matt. "Chester said you needed me."

"I found her and Mr. Dillon over to the Long Branch." Chester put in. "They both come when you said you needed her."

"I don't need you, Kitty." Doc shook his head. "She does." He jerked his thumb towards the frail elderly woman lying on the exam table. Doc lowered his voice, though he wasn't sure it mattered. "She's dying, Kitty. But she wanted to see you."

"Me?" Kitty frowned looking from Doc to Mrs. Stoner.

"Yes. I don't know why, but it was important to her." Doc's eyes pleaded. "She's not got much more time."

Kitty nodded, took a deep breath and then stepped over to the bed, taking the old woman's hand in her own. "Mrs. Stoner?" The old woman's eyelids flickered but didn't open. "Mrs. Stoner?"

Finally, tired blue eyes opened and looked up at Kitty. "You… You came." She offered a semblance of a smile. "I… I want… I wanted to see… see you. I… I have." She took as deep a breath as her worn body would allow and tried again. "I have to apol… apologize to you. Before… it's too late."

"Apologize?" Puzzled, Kitty glanced back at the men seeing the same confusion on their faces. "Mrs. Stoner, you don't…"

"I… I do." Mrs. Stoner's voice gained a modicum of strength as she forced herself to say what she needed to before it was too late. "Several years ago, you… came to me, asking me to… rescind the reward I… put out on the… Marshal. I was horrible… to you. I… I accused you of… of…"

Kitty suddenly remembered the conversation they'd had in Mrs. Stoner's hotel room. The old woman had put a bounty on Matt's head after he'd been forced to shoot her husband in self-defense. Kitty had gone to the woman, pleading for her to drop the reward, but she had refused. The woman had been rude and had looked down her nose at Kitty due to her profession. But Kitty had gotten over that a long time ago. "No," Kitty patted her hand. "You don't owe me an apology. It's okay. It's in the past."

"I… I was mean to you, Miss Russ… ell." The old woman looked genuinely contrite. "I… I couldn't go without tell… ing you, I'm sorry. I… was wrong. You… you may not… be married… but you… you know what it's… like to love a… a man. I can see that now. For… give me?"

Tears ran slowly down Kitty's cheeks as she nodded. "I do." She answered as finally the elderly woman closed her eyes and relaxed her grip on life, a slight smile gracing her face.

Kitty turned to find Matt right behind her and fell into his arms, crying softly against his chest. Matt comforted her for a moment until she finally pulled away and looked up at him. "Kitty, what was she talking about?" He asked her, as he looked down at her. "What did she mean?"

Kitty shook her head. She'd never told Matt about her unsuccessful visit to Mrs. Stoner's hotel room when she'd put a $1000 bounty on Matt's head. She'd never felt he needed to know and she still wasn't sure he did now. "Maybe, I'll tell you later." She sighed. "But right now I need a drink. Would you all like to join me? I'm buying."

Matt looked over at the dead woman and then Doc, who'd just pulled the sheet up over her. "That sounds good, Kitty."

"You two go on ahead." Doc told them. "I've got a couple of things to take care of here. Chester? Would you go and get Percy Crump for me?"

Chester looked a little disappointed that he would miss out on the drink but he nodded anyway. "Sure, Doc. I'll go right now."

When Chester left, Doc looked at the couple before him. "You two go on. Have a drink for me."

Solemnly, the two turned and left the office, with one last sad look at the old woman lying so still on Doc's table. Doc watched them go and then turned back to his desk and pulled out one of his books. Flipping through, he turned to the page under Mrs. Stoner name and entered her time and cause of death. Putting the pencil down, he stared at the entry for a moment before finally putting the book back up and getting back to his feet. The waiting was over now, at least the waiting for his patient to die. Now he would wait for Percy Crump to come and claim the woman's body.

Doc tugged his ear and then sipped his now cold coffee. Waiting. It seemed no matter what, he was always waiting. Waiting for his patients to get well under his treatment, or to die. Waiting for payment that seldom came or medical supplies that were usually either wrong or incomplete or late in coming. But that kind of waiting was part and parcel of his job as town Doctor.

Thinking of the two people who'd just left his office, Doc allowed himself a small smile. He was waiting on those two as well, to finally admit their relationship and settle down together and have kids. He knew they loved each other, but as of yet, they weren't quite ready to tell that to anyone. They didn't realize they didn't need to. Anyone with eyes could see what they meant to each other. Mrs. Stoner obviously did.

Doc nodded to himself. Yep, waiting. It was all just a matter of waiting with those two. But like all worthwhile things in life, their coming together was worth waiting for.

The End


End file.
